CHARACTERS Witches - “fate sisters”
Have strange appearance:
chappy fingers
Skinny lips
Beards
They tell Macbeth that he will become king
Plays around with people(puts curses on them if they feel like) Macbeth - at a noble position
Will become king according to witches Banquo - seems greedy
Doubts the witches of being women
Envies Macbeth because of the witches’ prediction of him becoming king
Will be lesser than Macbeth, but greater and not so happy, yet much happier Ross - comes to tell Macbeth that he is king
Seems to favor Macbeth Angus - comes with Ross to tell Macbeth he is king
Doesn’t seem to favor Macbeth
Seems to favor Banquo Major plot events - The witches curse a sailor
The witches encounter Macbeth and Banquo
The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king
Ross and Angus comes to deliver message that Macbeth is king Conflicts:
Macbeth is told by witches that he will be king: he does not know if this is
Banquo doubts that the witches are women
Banquo envies Macbeth of becoming king
Ross does not favor Macbeth
Act1.5 Questions
What do we learn about Lady Macbeth in these scenes?
Lady Macbeth seems noble to Macbeth. She seems to be like the Wealtheow of this play. When she receives Macbeth’s letter that he will become king, she does not want him to go through the sinful process of becoming a king just for happiness. She believes that he could be happy even without that position.
1.5 line 15
How might Lady Macbeth answer the question “What is the meaning of life?” Explain your answer.
Lady Macbeth would see a good meaning of life. She would believe, just like Wealtheow, that the world was a series of planned events and that everything has meaning.
Identify and write out two of Lady Macbeth’s lines that are particularly striking. Explain why you selected the lines.
1.5 line 65 “Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t. He that’s coming must be provided for;” It seems as if Lady Macbeth is doubting Macbeth or Duncan of a bad deed.
1.6 line 14 “All our service, in every point twice done, and then done double, were poor and single business to contend against those honors deep and broad wherewith your Majesty loads our house. For those of old, and the late dignities heaped up to them, we rest your hermits.
Lady Macbeth says that she was once poor. It made me think how hard it would be to get all the way to a king’s position from being poor, and I thought that maybe Lady Macbeth’s kindness might be because she was once at the bottom of the social status.
Identify one significant word that Lady Macbeth uses in 1.5 or 1.6, and define both the denotation and connotation of the word. Explain why you think the word is significant.
Great:
Denotation - a great amount/great in size
Connotation - feel great(happy)
Why has Macbeth decided to kill King Duncan by the end of Act 1?
1. Macbeth was convince that there were no further consequences to killing the king, but he will receive the King's position.
- 1.7 line 2
2. Macbeth is pressured by LadyMacbeth. She says that he will be a greater man if he kills the King. He has to prove to LadyMacbeth that he is a great man.
- 1.7 line 48
3. Macbeth will be hidden from being doubted
- 1.7 line 80
After the discussion I thought that Macbeth had thought of killing King Duncan, but was afraid of the consequences. In line 2, Macbeth says that only if the consequences were hidden, then he would like to kill the king. LadyMacbeth helps settle him down and offers him a plan to kill the king. I think this is what convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
"How does Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does he react this way?"
- Macbeth feels guilty of killing Duncan. Because of his guilt he hears voices screaming that he is a murderer. Macbeth feels scared of getting caught.
"How does Lady Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does she react this way?"
- Lady Macbeth is satisfied with the killing of Duncan. She feels like she should not get caught, but she does not feel guilt. Even when she thinks she talked to the wrong person, she is not very scared.
What is the main idea of the story?
What can we learn from these characters? Select one or two characters and explain your answer.
Do you see recurring images, words, deeds, situations, consequences, mistakes? Select two items from the preceding list and give examples from the play.
ASSIGNMENT 2
ASSIGNMENT 3
ASSIGNMENT 4
ASSIGNMENT 5
ASSIGNMENT 6
ASSIGNMENT 7
CHARACTERS
Witches - “fate sisters”
Have strange appearance:
chappy fingers
Skinny lips
Beards
They tell Macbeth that he will become king
Plays around with people(puts curses on them if they feel like)
Macbeth - at a noble position
Will become king according to witches
Banquo - seems greedy
Doubts the witches of being women
Envies Macbeth because of the witches’ prediction of him becoming king
Will be lesser than Macbeth, but greater and not so happy, yet much happier
Ross - comes to tell Macbeth that he is king
Seems to favor Macbeth
Angus - comes with Ross to tell Macbeth he is king
Doesn’t seem to favor Macbeth
Seems to favor Banquo
Major plot events - The witches curse a sailor
The witches encounter Macbeth and Banquo
The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king
Ross and Angus comes to deliver message that Macbeth is king
Conflicts:
Macbeth is told by witches that he will be king: he does not know if this is
Banquo doubts that the witches are women
Banquo envies Macbeth of becoming king
Ross does not favor Macbeth
Act1.5 Questions
What do we learn about Lady Macbeth in these scenes?
Lady Macbeth seems noble to Macbeth. She seems to be like the Wealtheow of this play. When she receives Macbeth’s letter that he will become king, she does not want him to go through the sinful process of becoming a king just for happiness. She believes that he could be happy even without that position.
1.5 line 15
How might Lady Macbeth answer the question “What is the meaning of life?” Explain your answer.
Lady Macbeth would see a good meaning of life. She would believe, just like Wealtheow, that the world was a series of planned events and that everything has meaning.
Identify and write out two of Lady Macbeth’s lines that are particularly striking. Explain why you selected the lines.
1.5 line 65 “Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t. He that’s coming must be provided for;” It seems as if Lady Macbeth is doubting Macbeth or Duncan of a bad deed.
1.6 line 14 “All our service, in every point twice done, and then done double, were poor and single business to contend against those honors deep and broad wherewith your Majesty loads our house. For those of old, and the late dignities heaped up to them, we rest your hermits.
Lady Macbeth says that she was once poor. It made me think how hard it would be to get all the way to a king’s position from being poor, and I thought that maybe Lady Macbeth’s kindness might be because she was once at the bottom of the social status.
Identify one significant word that Lady Macbeth uses in 1.5 or 1.6, and define both the denotation and connotation of the word. Explain why you think the word is significant.
Great:
Denotation - a great amount/great in size
Connotation - feel great(happy)
Why has Macbeth decided to kill King Duncan by the end of Act 1?
1. Macbeth was convince that there were no further consequences to killing the king, but he will receive the King's position.
- 1.7 line 2
2. Macbeth is pressured by LadyMacbeth. She says that he will be a greater man if he kills the King. He has to prove to LadyMacbeth that he is a great man.
- 1.7 line 48
3. Macbeth will be hidden from being doubted
- 1.7 line 80
After the discussion I thought that Macbeth had thought of killing King Duncan, but was afraid of the consequences. In line 2, Macbeth says that only if the consequences were hidden, then he would like to kill the king. LadyMacbeth helps settle him down and offers him a plan to kill the king. I think this is what convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan.
"How does Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does he react this way?"
- Macbeth feels guilty of killing Duncan. Because of his guilt he hears voices screaming that he is a murderer. Macbeth feels scared of getting caught.
"How does Lady Macbeth react to the killing of Duncan? Why does she react this way?"
- Lady Macbeth is satisfied with the killing of Duncan. She feels like she should not get caught, but she does not feel guilt. Even when she thinks she talked to the wrong person, she is not very scared.